Tag Archive Change4Life

In the recent Conservative Party Spring Forum, Theresa May was quoted praising our National Health Service, saying “I rely on the NHS every day and I am eternally grateful to them”.

Theresa May described how she relies on the NHS every day because of her diabetes as she defended her record on public services. The Prime Minister admitted that some people question the Conservative Party’s “motives” on health and schools but insisted that the conservative party cares deeply about our health service.

This quote by the Prime Minister reminded us just how lucky we are to have our NHS service. We hear far too many stories about NHS cuts, deficits and waiting lists, but very little about how incredible the service really is. In this blog post, we review just a few of the reasons why we love our health service.

Great value for money

The 2014 Commonwealth Fund report revealed that the NHS was better value for money than the healthcare systems of the US, France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, The Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland and Norway. Of the 11 countries in the analysis, only New Zealand spent less per head on healthcare, but it ranked 7th on the overall rankings for healthcare, a long way behind the NHS. Of the 11 countries, the NHS ranked first overall on quality, access and efficiency and was first on many individual measures, this is despite spending on healthcare in the UK being the second-lowest amount per head. Learn more at https://nhsfunding.info/cure/can-we-afford-the-nhs/.

Exceptional service

Our NHS staff go the extra mile to provide exceptional care for patients, from all walks of life, with a variety of injuries and illnesses. Read some of the many success stories here, here and here. We are so grateful for the vital work that our NHS workers undertake 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

At the forefront of technology and innovation

The NHS has always managed to incorporate new technologies into its service, making them available to the whole population. Organ transplants began in 1960, computer tomography in 1972 and keyhole surgery and magnetic resonance imaging in 1980. Since 1948, the NHS has prescribed innovative medicines soon after their launch for hundreds of medical conditions, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Public initiatives inform & educate

The NHS is dedicated to informing and educating the public, to avoid future health issues. Recent examples are the stroke act F.A.S.T campaign, Change 4 Life, prompts about the flu jab, and the introduction of screening for cervical, breast and bowel cancer. By educating the general public on current health issues, it helps to prevent illnesses and save lives.

Free for all

Without a doubt, the NHS is one of the fairest healthcare systems in the world. Our healthcare service is funded by sharing the costs via taxation allowing high quality healthcare to be provided to everyone, regardless of their age, finances or personal circumstances.

Here at Peto, we feel incredibly lucky to have access to such an incredible health service and would like to thank the NHS staff who make it all possible. Next time you hear a negative story about the NHS, we ask you to take a minute to think about the many positive outcomes of the service. In such a large organisation, there are bound to be problems, but we strongly believe that the positives far outweigh the negatives.